Moving precision health forward

Dec. 6, 2021

It’s been almost two months since the grand opening of the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building, and it’s already serving as a hub for cross-disciplinary innovation. One important way we facilitate these connections is by inviting our NextGen researchers to publicly share their work with colleagues and our community.

At 4 p.m. today, Dr. Mahesh Thakkar, director of research for the Department of Neurology in the MU School of Medicine, will discuss how sleep can affect people recovering from PTSD. At noon tomorrow, we’ll host our latest NextGen Discovery Series talk with Giovanna Guidoboni, associate dean for research in the MU College of Engineering, who will share how engineers are helping to drive new precision health innovations.

These public, livestreamed talks are designed for multidisciplinary audiences and help us identify new collaborative opportunities. Building these interdisciplinary relationships are at the core of NextGen, and central to MizzouForward — our transformative, $1.5 billion investment in Mizzou’s continued research excellence.

— Mun

Columbia’s new airport terminal takes off

Dec. 2, 2021

Columbia hit another milestone of progress today when several mid-Missouri regional leaders and I signed the final steel beam being placed at Columbia’s Regional Airport’s new terminal.

When finished next summer, COU’s expansion will accommodate more passengers and set a new tone for our region.  And it could not come at a better time as MU recruits more research faculty and continues to form new industry partnerships through our NextGen Precision Health initiative.

Mizzou has a strong partnership with the City of Columbia, and I was honored to represent all Tigers at this historic event.

— Mun

Building a championship culture

Nov. 19, 2021

At Mizzou, we continue to surpass a “business as usual” mentality. Today we broke ground on the Stephens Indoor Facility, a state-of-the-art 86,400-square-foot hub for athletic excellence.

This training center is adjacent to our South End Zone Facility and will be the new indoor home for Mizzou Football — opening more space for all of our student-athletes.

The building is named after Brad and Rachel Stephens, both Mizzou alumni and longtime supporters of our university. Working together with partners like Brad and Rachel, we continue to demonstrate Mizzou’s commitment to compete for championships in the SEC.

This investment is just the latest of many we are making in the people and potential of our Tiger community.

MIZ!

— Mun

Creating a welcoming campus

Nov. 17, 2021

This afternoon, author and civil rights activist Judy Heumann will meet with our community from 2-3 p.m. for a free virtual event and discussion. Heumann is a nationally recognized advocate for the rights of people with disabilities, subject of an Oscar-nominated documentary and author of a recently published memoir.

Co-hosted by more than 10 Mizzou partners — including schools and colleges, as well as student organizations — this event shows that building a welcoming campus (and world) is a responsibility we undertake together. By listening and sharing experiences from across our community, we can ensure that everyone knows they have a place at Mizzou and can receive the support they need to achieve excellence.

I hope you’ll be able to attend.

— Mun

Celebrating our alumni and faculty

Nov. 12, 2021

This afternoon, I’ll join the Mizzou Alumni Association in honoring incredible members of the university community with our annual Faculty Alumni Awards.

Since 1968, these awards have allowed us to highlight exceptional individuals and their distinguished contributions to Mizzou’s education, research and outreach missions. This year, we’re proud to recognize 12 Tigers (six faculty and six alumni) who exemplify the Mizzou spirit and elevate this university with their dedication, talent, perseverance and support.

Their contributions to our flagship institution, to our scholars, to the citizens of Missouri and the world, are an inspiration. I want to thank them for their service to the University of Missouri and congratulate them on this well-deserved award.

— Mun

Honoring our Mizzou veterans

Nov. 10, 2021

I hope you’ll join me for our Veterans Day wreath laying ceremony tomorrow (Thursday, Nov. 11) from 12:30-2 p.m. under the Memorial Union archway.

Every year, our community gathers on this day to honor the sacrifice and dedication of our many student-veterans. This fall, we will also shoot a group photo to show our support.

Mizzou is committed to our military students and their families. Our MU Veterans Center offers support and camaraderie, while our MU Veterans Clinic provides free legal services to veterans at MU and throughout the local community. We were also honored to be recently designated by the Military Times as a school Best for Vets.

Please come show your support.

— Mun

Transforming rural health care

Nov. 5, 2021

This week, I had the opportunity to speak at the BioSTL Rural Health Symposium and accept the invitation to be one of the founding partners of the Center for Rural Health Innovation.

This new statewide partnership is yet another way we’re collaborating to solve problems facing our approximately 2 million rural residents.

Mizzou has people and programs — such as our Springfield Clinical Campus and Extension offices — that share our research, education and outreach missions with every Missouri county and metro area. Other initiatives such as MizzouForward and NextGen Precision Health will help us offer even more lifesaving advances to communities that may be hours away from the nearest hospital.

By working together on these lifesaving solutions, we fulfill our land-grant mission and improve the health and wellbeing of our citizens, no matter where they live.

— Mun

Announcing…MizzouForward

Nov. 3, 2021

On Monday, I was thrilled to introduce MizzouForward — a transformative $1.5 billion investment in the continued excellence of our university. MizzouForward is a first-of-its-kind initiative to strengthen key research disciplines and help us improve lives around the world.

There are countless ways MizzouForward will impact our ambitious work, and I’m thrilled to share more details in the weeks ahead. Every groundbreaking discovery begins with amazing researchers. That’s why we’ve already started recruiting new faculty members who will help us realize MizzouForward’s vision of collaborative, interdisciplinary innovation. We’re aiming to recruit 150 new faculty by 2026 who will supercharge our research in three high-priority areas:

• NextGen Precision Health
• New Frontiers in Science, Engineering and Technologies
• Innovations in Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts

Our first candidates came to campus last week for interviews, and I was so impressed with their accomplishments and ambition. We are scheduling the next round of candidates who will all deliver a public keynote lecture about their cutting-edge research. I encourage our entire campus community to attend these presentations and hear firsthand from those who will help build the future of Mizzou.

— Mun

NextGen grand opening

Oct. 13, 2021

The big day is nearly here! We’re thrilled to celebrate the grand opening of the Roy Blunt NextGen Precision Health building on the University of Missouri’s campus on Tuesday, Oct. 19.

We began with a vision to create a dynamic hub of research excellence — a place where top researchers from Mizzou will harness the combined strengths of the MU Research Reactor, MU Health Care and the other UM System universities to find cures for society’s toughest diseases.

After more than two years of construction, the wait is finally over.

We’re thrilled to join NextGen supporters from all over campus and across the country. We’re particularly honored to welcome Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, and U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, the building’s namesake and a tireless supporter of the university’s mission. They support the mission of NextGen and believe in its promise to make lifesaving discoveries that will improve the health of Missourians and beyond.

We’re pleased to come together and celebrate this historic event, but we know our lifesaving work is just getting started.

This state-of-the-art facility anchors the NextGen institute and brings together an exceptional set of resources under one roof. By connecting the right people with the right tools at the right time, we will accelerate lifesaving discoveries and transform health care in Missouri and around the globe.

— Mun

Celebrating the 2021 Missouri Honor Medal honorees

Oct. 6, 2021

Last night, I had the privilege to help present the 2021 Missouri Honor Medal. Since 1930, this award has recognized leaders in journalism and strategic communication, including Sir Winston Churchill; Walter Cronkite; Helen Thomas, a former member of the White House press corps; and Cheryl Berman, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of unbundled. Our 2021 honorees are:

• Richard Edelman, CEO of Edelman, a global communications firm;

• Maria Hinojosa, anchor and executive producer of the broadcast program, “Latino USA,” and a multimedia journalist with work on PBS, NPR, CNN, CBS and others;

• Tom Knudson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist whose complex coverage of agriculture, the environment and environmental exploitation has appeared in numerous newspapers;

• Eugene Robinson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The Washington Post.

What’s so special to me about this award is how it captures the broad impact this field has on communities around the world. Every year, Mizzou has the opportunity to celebrate life-changing work that reflects our commitment to educating global citizens for a global society. All four of these individuals represent the excellence we hold ourselves to at the Missouri School of Journalism. And they highlight our imperative to build the next generation of journalists and communicators who have the skills to engage, innovate and produce in today’s digital age.

— Mun